"This is the kind of case the Board has never had to
deal with-a head-on collision between the credibility of a flight crew versus
the airworthiness of the aircraft." NTSB Investigator-in-Charge Leslie
Dean Kampschror

On April 4, 1979, a Boeing
727 with 82 passengers and a crew of 7 rolled over and plummeted from an
altitude of 39,000 feet to within seconds of crashing were it not for the
crew's actions to save the plane. The cause of the unexplained dive was the
subject of one of the longest NTSB investigations at that time.

While the crew's efforts to save TWA 841 were initially hailed as heroic, that
all changed when safety inspectors found twenty-one minutes of the
thirty-minute cockpit voice recorder tape blank. The captain of the flight, Harvey
"Hoot" Gibson, subsequently came under suspicion for deliberately
erasing the tape in an effort to hide incriminating evidence. The voice
recorder was never evaluated for any deficiencies.

From that moment on, the investigation was focused on the crew to the exclusion
of all other evidence. It was an investigation based on rumors, innuendos, and
speculation. Eventually the NTSB, despite sworn testimony to the contrary,
blamed the crew for the incident by having improperly manipulated the controls,
leading to the dive.

This is the story of an NTSB investigation gone awry and one pilot's
decades-long battle to clear his name.

Scapegoat: A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption is available at Amazon
and B&N.

What first inspired
you to write or who inspired you?

I am drawn to
stories of wrongful convictions. I am also a pilot. This story intrigued me
because it had many elements that I was interested in and could also write
authoritatively. I started with an open mind and went about my research with no
preconceived notions about the crew’s guilt or innocence. By the end of the
process, I was convinced that the investigators had wrongly blamed the crew.
The reader can draw their own conclusion.

At what age did you
know you wanted to be a writer?

I am a voracious
reader. But that wasn’t always the case. I didn’t read a book for enjoyment
until the age of 22. That was when I married and I noticed that my wife read a
lot. She recommended a couple of books and I was hooked. I started writing
stories for aviation publications not long after.

Do you take notes
when reading or watching a movie?

Occasionally. Only
if has to do with a project that I’m working on.

Has writing always
been a passion for you or did you discover it years later?

Writing a book
length manuscript is a lot of work. The reward is seeing a story that you alone
created released into the world.

Do you have a day
job?What do you do?

I am a pilot for a
major airline. That job gives me some advantages over other authors in that I
can travel to do interviews. Not everyone knows how to Skype.

Can you name three
writing tips to pass on to aspiring authors?

Don’t try to be literary.
It’s easy to get caught up in trying to describe someone’s appearance or a
scene in flowery prose. Few authors can pull it off. If it doesn’t come
naturally, don’t force it.

If you write
something that just feels off, rewrite it or delete it and try again.

Listen to the
feedback you get from early readers and adjust accordingly.

What hours do you
write best?

Evenings mostly.

How often do you
write?

If I’m working on a
book, which is a two to three-year process, I’ll write for several days and then
take a couple of days off in between. As I get further along, I’ll take longer
breaks to give myself some perspective when I return.

Are you an avid
reader?

Yes. Almost
exclusively nonfiction. I am drawn to true stories. I’ll read fiction and
science fiction occasionally, but there’s something about reading a story where
you know the events and people are real.

What are you reading
now?

Two books related to
crimes and wrongful convictions: We are
not such things by Justine van der Leun and Failure of Justice by John Ferak.

What are you
currently working on?

I’m not currently
working on another project. I’m always looking for stories that interest me.
I’m hoping that my next book is not an aviation book.